Drawing artists are skilled professionals who transform ideas into captivating visual artwork across sectors like editorial illustration, product design, entertainment, and marketing. Whether you need custom illustrations for campaigns, character designs for a game, or hand-drawn portraits, drawing artists deliver creative solutions tailored to specific project requirements.
What does a drawing artist do?
A drawing artist is a professional who creates custom artwork for clients on a project-by-project basis. These individuals work across different styles, including digital art, fine art, and hand-drawn illustrations, to deliver high-quality designs tailored to specific needs.
Drawing artists bring creativity and expertise to a variety of projects, such as character design, children's book illustrations, and logo design. They often specialize in media such as watercolor, oil painting, or digital painting, allowing clients to find the perfect match for their vision.
Common services drawing artists provide include:
Custom illustrations for book covers and social media posts
Unique character designs for comics, video games, or animations
Creative logo designs for businesses and personal brands
Children's book illustrations with engaging and vibrant artwork
Portrait art including hand-drawn and digital portraits
Graphic design for t-shirts, business cards, and promotional materials
Fine art such as watercolor paintings, oil paintings, and pencil sketches
How to hire a drawing artist on Upwork
Hiring the right drawing artist starts with clear communication about your vision and ends with a solid contract. Follow these steps to hire a drawing artist who brings your creative ideas to life.
Step 1: Post a job
A well-crafted job post helps artists looking for work find your project in searches. In your post:
Specify your preferred style and medium, whether pencil sketches, watercolor, digital painting, or vector graphics
List your intended use (including licensing needs) and target audience
Be clear about the scope of the project, including the deadline and the number of images you expect to need
Give your budget range
To create a tailored job post quickly, try the Job Post Generator powered by Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Describe what you need in a few sentences, and Uma will craft a job post in seconds. You can also review job description templates and examples for inspiration, as well as illustrator job description templates for ideas from a related field.
Step 2: Evaluate candidates
As you start to receive proposals, you'll want to review them in a way that is fair, thorough, and efficient.
Have Uma give instant video interviews and side-by-side comparisons
Use Upwork’s filters to find candidates by rate, location, and experience
Review proposals for signs that the candidate has understood your job post and has the skills to meet your needs
Examine portfolio samples for projects similar to yours in scope and technical complexity
Look for past client feedback and testimonials
Step 3: Interview your top choices
A quick video interview gives you the chance to ask any questions you have left for your top choices, and to get a feel for what a collaboration with them might be like.
Schedule and conduct interviews within Upwork messaging to get instant transcripts and summaries from Uma
Have the candidate walk you through a piece from their portfolio, focusing on their artistic choices and how those choices applied to their client’s need
Ask them to talk about art that has inspired them for previous projects
Discuss your vision for the project, including the audience, style, and goals
Cover logistics such as deadlines, milestones, usage rights, ownership, licensing, and payment
If you’re unfamiliar with interviewing freelancers, you can refer to common interview questions to help keep your conversations focused and productive. You can also repurpose questions from a related field, such as graphic design.
Step 4: Agree on scope and begin work
Once you’ve found the right person, you can send a contract directly through the Upwork marketplace. A solid contract protects both parties and helps collaborations be successful from beginning to end.
Use Upwork's contract workroom, messaging, and payment protection for secure collaboration
Choose fixed-price contracts for projects with clear deliverables, such as a few basic line drawings or icon sets
Separate complex projects into clear milestones, such as a single milestone for each of several full character sketches
Choose hourly contracts for ongoing work or projects without clear deliverables, such as large scale projects with many images and revisions over the course of several months
Be clear about the final deliverable, ownership, and licensing terms
Once the contract has started, be sure to give the artist everything they need to succeed, including a clear brief detailing the project and access to resources such as style guides or brand assets.
Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.
The rates and information provided in this article are based on current data and industry sources available at the time of publication. Freelance rates can vary depending on factors such as experience, location, project scope, and market conditions. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research to confirm current rates and trends, as this information may change over time.